After a long day at work you might wish for little more than a glass of wine, a rerun of EastEnders and a Chinese takeaway to take the edge off the trials and tribulations of life.

But celebrity chef Gary Rhodes doesn't care how awful your day has been.

As far as he's concerned, you've no excuse to tuck in to that takeaway, not when recipes in his new cookbook, Time To Eat, can feed you in less time than it takes to pick up the phone and order.

"As a nation, we're working longer, later hours," explains Gary.

"And the last thing you want to do after being at work all day is cook. You get home, open up the fridge door and think, 'There's nothing in here'. But you don't realise what's looking back saying, 'Eat me please, here I am, cook me'."

Gary divided his cookbook into time-specific recipes, ranging from dishes that you can knock up without having to visit the supermarket to slow-cooked lamb.

"I got home one evening and my son was stood in front of the fridge saying, 'There's nothing to eat, Dad'. So I looked in the fridge and saw a pack of sausages and some onion. 'What are you going to do with that?' he said, as teenagers do. 'You'd better make something tasty'."

This being Gary Rhodes, he took on the dare and created sausage bruschettas with a dollop of honey and a spoonful of mustard grain. They were a winner with his son, and provided the first recipe for Time to Eat.

It was a near-death experience that gave the chef the drive to spend his life in the kitchen.

Gary was hit by a transit van and spent eight months in hospital.

"I really believe I was saved for a purpose," Gary says thoughtfully.

"If I can give something back to this industry, then I've achieved my goal in life."

Honey-Mustard Sausage Bruschettas

(serves 4)

Vegetable oil, for cooking

450g (1lb) sausages

1 large onion, sliced lAknob of butter

Salt and pepper

4 thick slices of bread, drizzled with olive oil

2 tablespoons mustard

4 tablespoons clear honey

Warm 2 tablespoons of the oil in a frying pan, add the sausages and pan-fry for 10 to 15 minutes over a medium heat until golden brown on all sides and firm to the touch. For a slightly bitter taste, increase the heat, allowing the sausages to almost burn.

In a separate pan, fry the onion in a drizzle of oil and the knob of butter until softened and a rich golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, the bread slices can be toasted, fried or cooked on a grill pan, leaving burnt tinges around the edges.

Using kitchen paper, mop away excess fat from the sausage frying pan before adding the mustard and honey. Roll the sausages in the pan, allowing each to become well coated in the honey and mustard and remove from the heat.

Arrange the sausages on the bruschettas, spooning the onion on top. Or, try frying the onions in the same pan as the sausages, adding the mustard and honey to create a sticky finish.